Thousands of Britons have been given an even longer period of time to receive their £1,000 increase in payments.
The government has announced that the deadline has been extended for people to fill gaps in their National Insurance (NI) records to increase their national pension.
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The government program, which would allow the historical void to be filled, was due to end in April, but was then to be extended until July.
This action was due to DWP’s phone line congestion as the original deadline approached.
This has been extended for the second time, this time to April 5, 2025.
Holes in the record can be created for a variety of reasons, such as taking time off to care for your child.
If the gap is not closed, they may not receive the full national pension when they retire. It currently costs £203.85 a week, or £10,608 a year.
It takes 35 years of ‘eligible’ years of NI contributions to receive the new National Pension in full, and at least 10 years to receive anything.
Currently, the hole can only be backfilled from 2006 to 2016, and the program was due to end on July 31.
After that date, Britons could only trace payments back up to six years, but now they are given even more time to fill the void.
HMRC said the revised deadline would allow more “tens of thousands” of people to close the gap where they could increase their retirement pensions by thousands.
This scheme applies only to those who have reached (or are about to reach) the age for receiving the National Pension on or after April 5, 2016.
Potential beneficiaries of the scheme are urged to apply by the deadline and could receive £55,000 over 20 years of retirement.
Laura Trott, Minister of Pensions, said: “We are pleased to see that so many people are working to review their National Pensions. That is why we have extended the deadline for customers to add years to their National Insurance Records.” rice field.
“This extension means thousands more will have time to check their rights and, in many cases, the amount they will receive when they retire.”
You can check how many years you have paid for your NI and see how many years you are missing. government website.
Steve Webb, a former pensions minister and partner at consultancy LCP, said the extension was “very welcome”.
Mr Steve said: “We are pleased to announce that the Government has announced a significant extension of the deadline for voluntary NI payments to top up the National Pension.
“This is a complex area with great potential for people to improve their position, but also the risk of getting things wrong.
“It is important that people discuss their options with the DWP before making a payment, but the lack of phone capacity has made this impossible for too many people.”
He added that the extension would be an opportunity for more people to be trained to handle call volumes.
How to add National Insurance and how much you can get
In some cases, buying back lost years can be very valuable.
However, voluntary donations come at a price, as it is not free to recoup over the years.
If you close the gap from 2006/07 to 2015/16, you will pay the 2022/23 contribution rate.
It’s worth £15.85 per week, which means it costs £824.20 to buy a year’s worth of contributions.
The National Pension was £185.15 a week in 2022/23, so the increase will add £5.29 a week, or about £275 a year.
You will have to pay £8,242 (10 lots of £824.20), but your annual National Pension increase will be around £2,750.
In total, a person retiring for 20 years would recoup about £55,000 (before tax).
Anyone replenishing the record after April 2025 will pay that fee.
However, before making a voluntary donation, pension outlook and talk to me Government Future Pension Center.
This is because the national pension may not be increased even if you pay past premiums.
can i check A complete list of who can claim credit on the government website.
Learn when you should apply and when you’ll automatically get one.
Meanwhile, here are four of the best ways to increase your retirement savings, and two to avoid.
Here is the full list of reasons why you might have gaps in your records and risk missing out on full payment:
Got a money issue that needs sorting out? Email Money-sm@news.co.uk.
